To Lack Belief
by Cozza
Summary: Iruka's been taken hostage, Kakashi feels powerless. Written for lmxv3point3 as part of LJ's FandomAid project.
1. Chapter 1

"We couldn't save him," Kakashi stated bluntly as he entered their living complex. Iruka's eyes saddened. He had hoped, heck the whole village had hoped, it wouldn't come down to this.

Kakashi sat down on the sofa adjacent to Iruka's, his posture slouched.

"What's the plan now, then?" Iruka asked. Kakashi raised his line of sight from the floor, his visible eye shooting Iruka a blank stare, so filled with despair it left the chuunin feeling unnerved.

"There's no plan, Iruka. I've failed." He clenched the fabric of his pants at the knees, despite his face refusing to give away any sign of distress. "Again."

Iruka gulped, his mouth seemed dry. It had been a year since he started living with Kakashi, and in that time he'd come to learn of Kakashi's past. It was the night they had their first real argument that Kakashi finally came clean. He had told him of the father he neglected to support, who killed himself in shame; the teammate whose life was lost right before his eyes; and the sensei who he wasn't strong enough to prevent from sacrificing himself. When Iruka had tried to assure the other that he was not to blame, inevitably Kakashi had refused to even acknowledge his words.

Iruka stood up. "Kakashi, we've gone through this!" he exclaimed, his arms flailing. "You're not responsible for those past times, nor are you n-"

"Save it, Iruka."

Iruka scowled, agitated from not only being interrupted but also ignored. He strode over to where his partner was seated and placed a firm hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Now you listen here -" he started, but was cut short once again. This time not from Kakashi, but by an ANBU officer crashing through the door. Kakashi stood up swiftly, shaking free from the grip Iruka had on his shoulder.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked. The ANBU officer was still catching his breath, a new recruit it seemed.

"Missing-nin Kabuto. He's in the village," he said, and took a much needed deep breath. "His aim is unknown at this point, but he has already defeated several squads, and the majority of our usual reinforcements are injured or out on missions."

"Take us to him."

The ANBU officer nodded before securing his cat mask with a quick pat. "This way," he urged as he promptly led the way to the scene.

* * *

><p>They were quick to arrive at the desired location, that being the roof of the Hokage's headquarters. Kakashi scanned the area noticing several already knocked out squads. He was relieved to see that there were no fatal injuries. "Get a medic here, asap," he said. The ANBU officer gave a firm nod and in a matter of seconds had vanished through the air.<p>

Iruka positioned himself behind Kakashi, following the other by taking a defensive stance, kunai in hand. As far as he could see there was no sign of the alleged villain. "Where's he hiding?" he mumbled.

"He can't be far," Kakashi said. He bit his thumb hard enough for blood to trickle out, and performed the hand seals representative of boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram, in that order. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he uttered, before slamming his palm to the ground.

"What's it this time, Kakashi?" spoke the ninja hound that had appeared as a result of the summon.

"Pakkun, Kabuto was here moments ago. Can you trace his scent?"

Pakkun took a few steps towards the hoards of injured ninja, sniffing the air as he did. "It's faint, but it's enough to work off."

Kakashi nodded. "You know what to do."

The ninja hound did not require any further instruction, he took off immediately. Letting his nose guide him northerly.

"We should split up too," Iruka piped in.

Kakashi seemed hesitant. "On one condition: should you spot him, you come find me immediately. Don't try to face him alone."

Iruka gave a dry laugh, "I'm not that stupid." And he wasn't. Even he knew when he was outclassed. It would be completely irresponsible of him, as a ninja, to act otherwise.

Just as the two set out in opposite directions, Iruka quickly yelled back, "And I'm not through with you yet!" In hope that Kakashi would realise that their earlier, interrupted conversation would resume, that this whole Kabuto scene was but a minor delay. Kakashi made no attempt to acknowledge the yell, instead continuing henceforth with his search.

* * *

><p>The chuunin must have already surveyed blocks upon blocks of the village, multiple times. He had been so caught up in his search for Kabuto that he hadn't noticed the time. It was getting dark, but that by no means meant he could give up – he was yet to hear any news from Kakashi.<p>

Sighing, Iruka crouched down atop the tree branch and observed the area around him, all 360 degrees, deciding it was safe enough to take a quick break. He had been refusing himself the privilege of a breather all day, but now he had reasoned that such was necessary for him to continue. Hopefully he could reflect on the data he'd collected and let that decide his next moves.

He closed his eyes momentarily, allowing his hands to massage his temples as he focused. _Nowhere to be found at any of the training fields,_ he thought. _And from what I've seen, there has been no evidence to suggest he's nearby in these outskirts._

The silence of the forest was distracting, the chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot from an owl was all to be heard as the evening died out. The dwindling light and absence of noise had the atmosphere of the forest transform into something ominous, and despite Iruka's familiarity with these surroundings, he could not prevent the perturbed feeling that surfaced in his chest, especially with the knowledge that an enemy was at loose.

A slight rustle of leaves to the left of him was all the shinobi needed to recall his rather vulnerable position and take a defensive stance, kunai in hand. However, no matter how many times or directions he turned to investigate, there was no one, or nothing, to be present. Sighing, he wiped the dried sweat off his face, and shot one more nervous glance backwards. Upon seeing nothing of interest he resolved himself to continue with his investigation.

Wrong.

It happened all too quickly. He could feel the cold, hard metal of something sharp gently pierce his neck. It made him feel weary. His consciousness began to rapidly slip from his control and he found himself fighting to keep his eyes open. Neglect of his consent, the shinobi gave into the drug. As he blacked out his balance became unstable, he no longer had control over the chakra distribution to his feet. Clumsily, he dropped from the tree. His fall was cut prematurely as his attacker caught him swiftly. With Iruka secure in his arms, he fled the scene.

* * *

><p>Iruka yawned, dazed and not quite awake. He could hear voices, loud voices. Struggling to come to, he attempted to tune into the ruckus. For the most part, he couldn't hear much – it felt like his head was spinning – but he was able to make out several words that alerted his attention. Among them, 'Kabuto', 'Iruka', and 'hostage'.<p>

He sat up hurriedly, wiping his eyes. It was of no use, though, his vision was blurred and no amount of rubbing would help. A gold colour assaulted his eyes, causing him to confirm the suspicion that he was somewhere unfamiliar. _Where exactly am I?_ His inability to see would normally be but a small hindrance, as he could rely on his other senses – but they were of no assistance in this situation. He shuffled around the floor clumsily, reaching out to feel things that did not exist. After the yelling, and the words that startled the man awake, there had been no noise, save for that made by Iruka's movements. His only saving grace was the faint clinical scent that filled his nostrils. He wasn't entirely certain of its presence, but it was his only lead, and frankly, it was better than nothing.

As he moved into a comfortable position, which admittedly was rather difficult given the hard floor, he went to work on deciphering the facts he had. First and foremost: the events that had taken place prior to his landing here. His memory was vague, hazy even, but he remembered searching for someone... but who? One of the words that had awoken him earlier sprang to mind. Kabuto! _Yes, that's right_, he thought. _We were looking for Kabuto! He invaded the village, so Kakashi -_

His thoughts came to a halt. Kakashi. Where was he? Was he okay?

Frustrated with his lack of insight into his current situation, Iruka slammed the floor with a powerful fist. It was all making sense now. He repeated punching the floor until he could feel blood trickle from his knuckles. More than anything – more than Kabuto, Iruka was mad at himself. How could he allow himself to be taken hostage? How could he put Kakashi, let alone his alone village in this position? He knew that they'd be doing everything within their power to save him, save him from a situation that would otherwise cease to exist if he hadn't allowed himself to behave so recklessly. _How could I let my guard down, even for mere moments? _He sighed. Scolding himself repeatedly wouldn't fix anything.

"Kakashi," he whispered, "you better be okay."

* * *

><p>Kakashi was not okay. He was anything but okay. Of course, his fellow shinobi were none the wiser. He was good at that – masking, in both senses of the word, his emotions.<p>

Instead of behaving impetuously as a result, he had been channeling his emotions into solving what was important. Saving Iruka.

He had first learned of Iruka being held captive not short of an hour ago. The last time Kakashi had been in the same vicinity as his partner had been over four hours ago when they were departing for their search. Kabuto had announced his acquisition through some sort of genjutsu, allowing him to broadcast it village-wide. That act alone had informed Kakashi that their enemy was not alone; Kabuto was accompanied by a competent genjutsu user.

After the initial broadcast, it had not taken long for Tsunade to order civilians to evacuate to the village's safe zones; and have the all the shinobi available report to her office. According to Pakkun who had been on Kabuto's trail for a while, the genjutsu had been cast from atop the Hokage monument. Tsunade had Team 8 verify this, and when they did she had Shikaku form a strategy of attack.

Stage one of their attack had gone without a hitch. Directly confront the enemy and discover their intentions, what they sought. When Kakashi, accompanied by colleagues, had arrived at the scene they saw not two enemies, but five. Kabuto along with four of which Kakashi recognised as the same Sound Four that had been defeated – only they couldn't be. He quickly deduced that it must be the work of Orochimaru's Impure World Resurrection, a jutsu many had witnessed the man use against their former hokage. It was apparent that Kabuto would have assisted the crippled Orochimaru to accomplish this. And it didn't take him long to realise Tayuya must have assisted Kabuto with his earlier broadcasting genjutsu.

The Sound Four, though, were casting an all too familiar jutsu. The Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment; another jutsu in which they had utilised to assist in Sarutobi's demise. It cast an unbreakable barrier between the participants within its confines and those outside. This time, however, instead of trapping their former hokage in with Orochimaru; a large, gold, enclosed vault-like building sat inside. An enclosure that Kabuto sat atop and without a doubt was containing Iruka.

As Shikaku had instructed, Kakashi ordered for his backup to remain where they were. He approached the barrier jutsu, standing face to face with Kabuto. The missing medical nin peered down at Kakashi. "Long time no see, Kakashi," he had said, smirking.

Kakashi didn't care for the pleasantries, on the contrary the thoughts he was harbouring towards the other were anything but pleasant. "What are you after?"

Kabuto smiled and pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "My, my, Kakashi. You're not as hospitable today. Perhaps you have a deep connection with the ninja under here..." he said as he ran his fingers along the surface of the structure.

_Don't let him lure you in_, Kakashi thought. "He is a fellow shinobi of this village."

"Heh," Kabuto started, "I suppose you don't have a choice in whether you save him or not. You're but one of the hokage's loyal dogs, after all."

Kakashi couldn't help but amuse himself by wondering what Kabuto then considered his relationship with Orochimaru to be. He smiled briefly at the thought.

"I repeat, what are you after?"

Kabuto ceased his fidgeting and stared directly at Kakashi, his expression serious, meaning business. "Uzumaki Naruto."

It was exactly like Shikaku had said, and it made complete sense. The nine-tail Jinchuuriki, a prized possession for anyone to have control of, such vast power. Regardless, the thought of it still made Kakashi tense. His pupil or his partner. What one would it be?

"Oh and Kakashi – two hours until the little dolphin suffocates."

_Shikaku, you better have something planned_, was all he had thought.

–

But Shikaku did not have anything planned, save for petty little plans that lacked reliability. Time was ticking. They only had an hour left until Kabuto would see to the end of Iruka.

Frustrated, Kakashi clenched his jaw. "Shikaku," he said. Shikaku glanced up from his scribblings to look at the masked man at the other end of the table. "We completed stage one based on the assumption you had a stage two to follow." Kakashi wouldn't normally question the other man, but when a situation like this, involving two dear to him, occurred he couldn't help himself.

Shikaku's weary expression remained, he sighed. "I did, but the circumstances have changed."

Tsunade gave Kakashi a concerned look, "Don't worry. Naruto's safely recuperating in the hospital and is under constant surveillance by reliable ninja."

Kakashi nodded, but it wasn't Naruto his concerns were mostly directed at. He knew that the ninja guarding him were strong and efficient; it was Iruka he was worried about. Time was running thin and they couldn't afford to lose him – not by accepting the trade, or by running out of time. They needed to act fast if they were to save him, along with countless villagers who would then be involved in battle if Kabuto didn't get what he wanted. But how?

The village was short staffed, shinobi-wise, but more importantly, if they initiated an attack there was no doubt in Kakashi's mind that Kabuto wouldn't hesitate to end Iruka's life there and then. And there was no logical way to break the barrier to get to Kabuto without said enemy realising something was off.

An epiphany struck the man. Without a word, he stood promptly from the table and headed out the door of the hokage's office.

"Oi, where are you going, Kakashi?" he heard Tsunade ask.

"Toilet," he said, and gave a nonchalant wave. Refusing to say anything further.

– 

How long had it been? Iruka couldn't tell; every aching minute felt like a century to him from within his confines. What's happening out there? Was everyone okay?

He wiped his eyes, glad to see that the drug used to impair his vision was wearing off, albeit slowly. He found himself now able to identify subtle discolourations that stained various parts of his gold prison. He noticed a pattern in the discolourations, the same gold tinge was visible in all four of the room's corners. His immediate thought was provoked by something that had stuck with him since he had first learned it during his academy days: every jutsu has its weak points. And there was no doubt in Iruka's mind that this concrete shelter had been cast by some sort of jutsu.

Iruka distributed chakra to his palms and placed them firmly on the wall. He felt a fierce pain rivet through his entirety as he was flung harshly across the room. Someone was fusing the wall with a strong chakra that rejected touch. Realising his approach was ineffective he felt himself drifting off, his consciousness fading away... again.

"My, my. Dolphins should behave themselves," Kabuto said casually from his position on top of the cell.

–

Kakashi hadn't completely lied when he said he was going to the toilet. Only, he hadn't mentioned what he planned to do there – which was definitely not use their facilities.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he whispered. A shadow clone of himself appeared in front of him. He nodded at it and promptly ushered it out of the, now cramped, cubicle he was in. The shadow clone was merely a distraction, a way to buy time. It would replace him in the conferencing going on in Tsunade's office, whilst the real Kakashi would see to his plans.

"Showtime," he said under his breath, and quickly fled the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Several teams had arrived back in the village, their missions complete. When they had noticed the quiet, dead streets; a behaviour unusual for such a social village, they had immediately made their way to the hokage's office. Their common sense informing them that something was most definitely up.

Gai ceased his walking just when they were out front the hokage's door, he extended his arm to block Neji, Lee and Tenten from entering the just yet. "Allow your brave sensei to go in first," he said, beaming at them all. Neji and Tenten sighed while Lee's eyes were filled with admiration.

"Such a noble sacrifice, Gai-sensei!"

Gai shot Lee a reassuring thumbs up and barged dramatically through the hokage's door. His entrance was met by bemused expressions, that were quick to revert to their weariness upon realising who the peculiar entrance was made by.

"Tsunade-sama, what's happening?" Gai asked seriously. His fellow team members walked in behind him, their faces heavy with concern.

Tsunade eyed them all, observing their states. They looked exhausted. Ever since Orochimaru's attack, squads had had to take on several times the amount of missions they used to. The village had less available ninja, but they needed their mission output to remain consistent, otherwise they'd fear attack and threats from all different sources. 

She turned her head to the side, guilt grasping her throat. She felt powerless amidst all this chaos already, and now Kabuto had added to her worries. Worries which she, as hokage, was obligated to burden all the village's supply of ninja with, when they were already worn to the bone. "Kabuto," she said. Not feeling up to explaining the whole capacity of the situation.

A knowing expression claimed Gai's face. Nothing good could from that man's name. He nodded gratefully to Tsunade and walked over to the larger party of ninja discussing tactics; he could get further information from them.

"Kakashi-sensei! This is no time to be reading!" Lee exclaimed as he approached said man. The shadow clone of Kakashi give a muffled chuckle through his mask. He tucked the pornographic book away into his vest.

"I suppose you're right."

Lee nodded triumphantly. "Unless of course you were reading a strategy guide... in that case, may I take a look at it too?" Excited, the green-spandex clothed boy reached for the book inside the other man's vest. The shadow clone quickly evaded the hand.

"No, no. It's nothing like that," Kakashi said, waving his hands dismissively. Lee didn't look convinced, though. The boy quickly reached for Kakashi's vest again, to which his hand was once again met with avoidance. Determined to retrieve the book, Lee flung his entire self at the man. _Shit_, was the last thing the shadow clone thought before it dissolved into a puff of smoke.

The boy had fallen to the floor and looked up around him. "Kakashi...?"

Everyone in the room was looking his way, he stood up and scratched his head nervously. Unsure of what has just happened, and why he was receiving so much attention.

Tsunade slammed her fist down on her desk, which resulted in it collapsing to pieces. "Fucking Kakashi!" She looked around the room, her eyes meeting a few frightened faces, or otherwise equally frustrated. _Shadow clone, huh? I should have known better, _she thought. _What's he planning?_ If there was one thing she knew, it was that she couldn't sit around waiting. There was only half an hour left until Kabuto's deadline. She needed to think fast, think fast and factor in the new conflict.

"Fuck," she muttered.

–

It was a good thing Kakashi had made a shadow clone – it was an invaluable jutsu for more reasons than just serving as a ploy for his plan. It allowed him to know when, or if, he had been figured out. Like now, he had felt his other half disperse and transfer all the knowledge it had obtained to him. No more hesitation, or even contemplating other possible outcomes of his plan. The time to act was now.

He jumped down from the tree he was perched in. As his feet met the pavement he could feel his resolve strengthen. This was something he had to do. For Iruka. For Naruto. For the village. He couldn't afford to let a single soul die in front of him again, he refused to make the same past mistakes.

Step by step he approached Kabuto and the alive Sound Four corpses. He shot a quick glance back at the tree, it seemed so distant now, yet it was only mere metres. It was as if his separation from it symbolised that there was no turning back. That that one tree was now just another tree amongst a forest of them, encouraging the man by its leaves soft whistles through the cool breeze; reminding the man of who and what he was doing this for.

Kabuto didn't say anything, but just observed the man advance casually to their set-up. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity when he saw Kakashi come to a halt and spread his arms out to either side of him.

"Kabuto," Kakashi started, "I am of more value than Iruka or Naruto."

Kabuto hesitated. "More valuable than a jinchuuriki? You've got to be kidding me."

But Kakashi wasn't kidding. He was completely serious. "I am one of the only few Sharingan users left, and the only ever wielder of it who does not hail from the Uchiha clan."

Kabuto couldn't prevent the scoff that escaped his throat. "Need I remind you that we have Sasuke now?"

"But for how long?" Kakashi said. The other man stared at him suspiciously. "It's only a matter of time until a: we save him, or b: he kills you both."

"Neither of those options will happen," the bespectacled man assured. "And besides, what good is a lousy shadow clone? Pathetic." Like a puppeteer, Kabuto had Jirobo of the Sound Four dart a kunai in Kakashi's direction. Kakashi neglected to avoid it and instead stood his ground as he let it pierce through the skin on his shoulder. He caught it just before it fell to the floor, wiping the blood from it with his pants.

"You think I'm stupid enough to propose this exchange with a shadow clone?" It wasn't really a question, more so a statement, but Kabuto grinned nonetheless.

"Heh, I think you're even more stupid for not using one. But I admire your bravery, regardless of how foolish it is. And when I think about it, Orochimaru-sama could definitely use someone like you to experiment on." The man jumped down from the white prison and ordered the four to temporarily disband the barrier as he stepped out. The moment he was out it was back up. "Are you really willing to go that far, Kakashi?" he asked, his voice teasing as he approached Kakashi, twirling a chakra scalpel around his index finger.

The man in question nodded affirmatively. He didn't flinch in the slightest when he felt the cold, metal point of the scalpel gently graze his neck. "You're lucky this one's not poisoned, otherwise you'd already be out cold." Kabuto applied a bit more pressure, slightly piercing Kakashi's neck to emphasise his point. "Just like – what's his name? … Iruka?"

Kakashi's jaw clenched at the mere mention of Iruka, it went unnoticed by the other. "Let Iruka free first."

The scalpel traced his jaw and following the contours of his cheekbones, slightly ripped the man's mask. "I do not think you are in the position to be making demands."

"I think he is."

Kabuto's eyes widened in alarm, he kept Kakashi in a headlock and with as much composure as he could summon, turned to the speaker. But it was too late. The bespectacled man had already fallen into their trap. Without any control of his limbs, he felt his hand release the scalpel and push Kakashi away from him.

"Nicely played, Shikaku Nara. However, you are forgetting about my four friends over there, and who's inside," he said.

"No we're not. Now that you're out of the equation we can freely attack without fear that you'll attack Iruka," Shikaku replied. And as if on cue Inoichi cast a Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu on the plump Jirobo. He had chose this jutsu over the Mind Body jutsu as he doubted he could override their controlled bodies from Kabuto's grasp; this way, their body acted independent of not only their will but Kabuto's too.

Jirobo's body gave a slight spasm and within seconds he was pried free from maintaining his portion of the Battle Encampment jutsu, resulting in the whole barrier collapsing.

"Kakashi! Get Iruka out of there while we fend off the zombies," Inoichi hollered. The man in question snapped out of his detachment from current events and regained his composure, he lunged straight forward at the solid, golden building encasing Iruka. He hadn't had time yet to properly study the Sound Four's abilities, but he concluded that the confinement itself must have been created by some variation of Kidomaru's Sticky Gold jutsu. A solid punch to a discoloured corner of the sturdy detainment cell told him that he was going to need more force, more power to break through if he wanted to save his partner.

–

In a frenzy Iruka awoke; something had caused the walls confining him to vibrate slightly. _Are the walls being lined with colliding chakra again?_ he wondered. _No, the feeling is different this time._ And it was true, the source of the vibrations all traced back to the same spot, it wasn't an equally distributed power – it felt more like a physical attack on one spot of the cell. Clumsily the chuunin got to his feet, not yet fully recovered from his earlier disagreement with the wall, but he concluded that if the cell was being successfully attacked then that meant the chakra effusion was absent.

His throat was dry, in desperate need of moistening. Licking his cracked lips he nodded reassuringly to himself and proceeded to attack the same corner those from the outside were. Each chakra enfused punch to the hard, gold-like substance seemed ineffective, but that didn't stop him. He'd keep pounding no matter what. Blood soaked, raw knuckles meant nothing to him, especially when he knew there were others out there doing the same. For him.

On the seventh punch he heard a slight noise, akin to that of cracking, sound from the wall. With new-found eagerness, Iruka stretched his arms in preparation for his, hopefully, final blow. As he readied himself to deliver the final blow, he froze. Shatters of solid, not quite the density of gold – but the colour, bits of wall exploded from the corner he had been aiming at. A single arm, lit with a thrilling, yet familiar, jutsu, accompanied the shatters. Kakashi's raikiri. The joy that overcame the male in that instant was unfathomable, without a so much as a second thought he reached out to drag the stray arm, and body attached, into what was left of the now mostly collapsed cell.

Seeing Iruka was alive and now safe, Kakashi grinned. He did not expect to be pulled into a bone crushing hug by the other, though. Iruka buried his head into the crook of Kakashi's neck, his arms refusing to ease their hold on the jounin's neck. Smiling contentedly, Kakashi gently wrapped his arms around the other man's waist in an expression of comfort. "Sorry I'm late, I had to save an old man from an uncouth youth," he said, while softly rubbing circles into the chuunin's lower back. Iruka gave a weak laugh and a light punch to the arm.

"Idiot. Let's get out of here." They walked out of the thoroughly demolished cell and across to where their company were stood, whom all appeared to be in the process of tying up the intruders.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" hollered an enraged Gai, as he came flying through the air with his foot colliding with Kakashi's head. Kakashi fell unceremoniously to the ground, gripping his head in pain.

"Nice to see you too, Gai," he said, rubbing his sore head as he stood back up.

"Kakashi!" Said man looked up in surprise, Gai's tone was unusually serious. He noticed that several other ninja proceeded to stand next to the eccentric, green-clothed man, having already dealt with the intruders. Among them Tsunade, Inoichi, Shikaku, Lee, Neji, and Tenten.

"Never do that again. We're here for you, you're not alone. It's time you started believing in us."

As if to reaffirm their point, Iruka, in all sincerity, grasped onto the other man's shoulder. "None of us are going anywhere this time." Kakashi looked taken aback, his eyes widening at the concerns of his peers. The sincere care and worry present in not only their tones but expressions caused him to give a subtle gulp. They were right, he wasn't alone. He had friends, friends he could rely on, friends who loved him, and whom he loved too.

"Thank you."

The group of ninja nodded. Iruka smiled and linked his arm around Kakashi's as they slowly abandoned the scene. "Now, about that talk we were having earlier..."

"I get it now. Thank you, Iruka," he said, earning him a happy squeeze of his linked arm from Iruka.

_Yeah_, he thought. _I'm an idiot for not believing in them_.


End file.
